1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a print technique using an XPS driver, and more particularly to a technique for appropriately performing printing operation in response to a print request from a GDI application.
2. Related Art
In relation to Windows XP (Trademark or Registered Trademark) of Microsoft Corporation, standards called a GDI (Graphic Device Interface) for controlling a printer and a display are available.
In the meantime, in relation to Windows Vista (Trademark or Registered Trademark) of Microsoft Corporation, standards called an XPS (XML Paper Specification) are adopted.
Incidentally, JP-A-2007-249854 includes descriptions about (1) a flow of print processing from a Win32 application to a GDI driver; (2) a flow of print processing from a WinFX application to an XPS printer driver; (3) a flow of print processing from the Win32 application to the XPS printer driver; and (4) a flow of print processing from the WinFX application to the GDI driver. JP-A-2007-249854 is not yet open to the public at the time of the filing date (Apr. 2, 2007) of the application basic to the present patent application.
In order to grasp a printable area R2 (see FIG. 2) of a print sheet, the GDI application that performs output processing by means of a GDI issues a GetDeviceCaps( ) function to a printer driver complying with the GDI (hereinafter called a “GDI driver”), to thus acquire the size of the printable area R2.
In contrast, the XPS driver that is a printer driver complying with the XPS standards is arranged so as to return the size of a print sheet area R1 to the GetDeviceCaps( ) function. Specifically, a related-art GDI application not conforming to the standards issues a GetDeviceCaps( ) function and comprehends, upon receipt of the size from the XPS driver, that the entire area R1 of the print sheet shown in FIG. 2 is printable (although an actual printable area is R2).
Therefore, the GDI application issues, to the XPS driver, a print request for assigning a print image to the area that lies off the actual printable area R2. If the XPS driver causes the printer to perform printing without modifications in response to the print request, an image assigned to an area of a margin M (an area difference between the print sheet area R1 and the printable area R2) will not be printed.